Mysteries of the Forest ABANDONED
by BronzeDove
Summary: As Lucy Heartfilia led her horse and cart down the path that led to her cottage after a long day of walking to and from town, the last thing she expected to see in the dimly lit woods was a man bleeding in the ditch. [ABANDONED]


As Lucy Heartfilia led her horse and cart down the path that led to her cottage after a long day of walking to and from town, the last thing she expected to see in the dimly lit woods was a man bleeding in the ditch.

Her eyes widened when she noticed him, dropping her horse Sagittarius's lead rope and running to him. She gasped in shock as she noticed that he was laying in a pool of blood that seemed to be seeping out of a large wound in his abdomen.

Never in her life had Lucy seen so much blood.

Sure she'd seen soldiers in the backs of carts with the occasional blood stain but never was it this serious. The blonde knelt down and reached out a shaking hand, placing her middle and index fingers on the side of his neck to check for a pulse. She waited a moment, praying to god for him to still be alive, and sure enough, she felt the faint pulse.

Sighing in relief, Lucy quickly reached for the hem of her dress, ripping a long piece of it off. As gently as she could, Lucy wrapped the fabric around the man stomach, tying it tightly before standing again.

Rain started to fall, although it was only a drizzle, Lucy reminded herself that The Sky Maiden in the town of Magnolia had predicted a storm tonight and reached over to the unconscious man. She grunted as she pulled him up and drug him to her cart, putting him in the empty back with great difficulty, pulling her cloak over him and crawling into the makeshift seat, scooting onto Sagittarius's back and grabbing the lead rope, attaching it to the other side of the horses bit and getting back into the seat, jerking the reigns slightly.

"Trot!" She said politely with an underlying air of urgency. The chestnut Clydesdale obliged and started moving quickly towards the cottage.

By the time Lucy reached her home, rain was coming down in sheets, blinding her as she desperately searched for the cottage. Once that blonde saw the light that was coming from her cottage, she urged Sagittarius to go faster.

"Virgo!" She screeched. "Virgo I need your help!" She cried as she drove the cart into it's stall.

Suddenly a pink haired woman popped her head out from the door that connected the stall to her cottage. "Yes Hime?"

Lucy shot out of the seat and into the back of the cart. "Virgo, help me get this man inside, he needs help!"

Virgo's eyes widened and she dashed forwards, shifting into a larger version of herself and reaching into the cart, gently grabbing the man and carrying him inside, laying him down on the bed in the spare room. Lucy closed the door behind her and rushed to the kitchen, filling a small cauldron with water and putting it over the fire to heat it. While she waited, Lucy grabbed clean clothes and set them on the table.

After a while, Virgo returned to Lucy's side. "Hime, I redressed his wound but he's running a fever."

Lucy nodded as she scooped warm water into a bowl with a ladle. "I will take care of him until the storm clears, then I should call The Sky Maiden."

* * *

_**The next morning...**_

Lucy opened her eyes and looked around, wincing at the light that shone through the window. Suddenly the events of the previous night came rushing back to her and she shot up, looking for the man she'd saved.

The blonde calmed when she noticed him in the bed in front of her. Sitting up from her chair, Lucy took the time to study the man. He had sharp facial features and pale skin along with messy black hair that fell to one side of his face, he had pale lips that were drawn into a frown from pain, sweat beading on his forehead and face, he also had a scar on his nose that made Lucy wonder how he got it and had a cloth on his forehead. Lucy blushed as she noticed how genuinely handsome the man was as she reached up and grabbed the cloth on his forehead, noticing how toned his now shirtless torso was as she dabbed at the sweat.

Lucy cleaned off the cloth with the water and placed it on his head again. She walked around her house and noticed Virgo was gone. Once the blonde reached the kitchen she noticed a note on her table.

_Dear Hime,_

_I decided to let you sleep since you worked so hard to help that man._

_If you're wondering where I am, I took Sagittarius and went to fetch The Sky Maiden. I should be back by high noon. _

_I prepared breakfast for you as well. Enjoy!_

_-Virgo_

Lucy smiled and reached to the plate beside the note, removing the lid and noticing the sweet roll and veggies. "Thanks Virgo..." Lucy murmured as she took the plate back to the room.

* * *

Once Virgo returned, she quickly ushered the Sky Maiden inside. Lucy, having never met her before, was quite shocked to find that the renowned sorceress was but a child no older than her fourteenth summer.

"Thank you for coming so quickly Sky Maiden. My name is Lucy." The blonde said with a small bow.

She small bluenette blushed and tugged at her white robe. "T-there's no n-need for formalities. My n-name is Wendy, it's nice to m-meet you Lucy." The sorceress stuttered. "C-can you t-take me to the p-patient?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Right this way." She said as she led the bluenette to the spare room.

Wendy walked up to him and noticed the excessive bandaging. She hovered her hand over the male and concentrated for a moment so that she could tell exactly what was wrong with him.

She opened her eyes and launched into Healer mode. "Where do you keep the herbs Virgo informed me of?"

Lucy grabbed the girls hand and pulled her to the door, opening it and dragging her outside until they stopped at the garden. "Aries? Aries are you here?" Lucy asked as she opened the gate to the garden and looked around.

Soft footsteps were then heard and a small pink ram poked it's head out from behind a rhubarb patch, it blinked then timidly stepped forwards. Lucy smiled as the ram stopped in front of her, shimmering a golden colour and transforming into a young woman with curly pink hair and a short white dress. "I'm sorry Lucy..."

"Oh Aries, I already told you that you don't have to apologize." The blonde said as she pulled Aries into a hug.

Once Lucy released the pink-haired woman, she turned back to Wendy and Virgo. "Wendy, I'd like you too meet Aries, she a forest spirit."

The bluenette smiled and bowed slightly to Aries. "It's nice to meet you."

Aries blushed slightly and looked down. "It's nice to meet you too."

Lucy smiled even wider as the two girls interacting. "Aries, could you help Wendy find some medical herbs please?"

The forest spirit nodded and led Wendy away. Meanwhile, Lucy and Virgo grabbed baskets and started to collect vegetables.

"Virgo, do you think that man will live?" Lucy asked with a hint of sadness in her voice as she pulled carrots.

The other woman stayed silent for a moment before giving an answer. "When I was in Magnolia, I watched Wendy heal a child who had no sight. If only you'd seen the look on that little boy's face when he looked around for the first time. It was as if he had received the greatest gift in the world. I have faith in Wendy's abilities."

Lucy smiled and pulled another carrot. "She has so much power for such a young age."

Virgo stopped pulling tomatoes and looked at Lucy with a serious expression. "You have so much power for such a young age as well Hime."

The blonde's face darkened as she heard what Virgo said. "I swore never to use them again, not after what happened."

The other woman sighed and grabbed her basket. "It's a shame... He wouldn't of wanted you to do this to yourself... He would have wanted you to pursue your dream." Virgo said as she stood up. "I'll go fetch Wendy."

* * *

As the three girls walked into the spare room with the fresh herb pastes, they couldn't help but notice that it seemed strangely darker in the room than in the rest of the house. Wendy walked up to the man and gasped as she looked at him. Shadows were swirling around him, his breathing was shallow and his face was contorted in pain.

"Virgo, Lucy! I need the pastes now!" She cried out as she removed his bandage. The two women rushed forwards, handing the herbs to Wendy. Virgo aided the young girl while Lucy dipped a cloth in warm water, dabbing at the man's face with one hand and running her fingers through his hair with the other.

"Shhh... It'll be okay..." She whispered in his ear. After murmuring those soothing words, then mans face relaxed and his breathing evened out. Lucy looked up and watched Wendy, who now had a green aura surrounding her hands which were hovering over the wound. Lucy watched in awe as the paste started to glow over the wounded area, the blonde could only assume it was due to her healing magic.

After a few minutes, Wendy stopped healing and sat down in a near by chair, panting ever so slightly. "He should be fine now." She said to Virgo and Lucy.

Lucy turned and looked at the man again, his skin didn't look as pale and his breathing had evened out. "Thank you Wendy." The blonde said as she stood up and looked at the young girl again, only then noticing how late it was.

"We can't have you traveling back to town so late, you wouldn't get back till dawn. You should stay here tonight and tomorrow morning one of us will take back." Lucy said firmly.

Wendy looked up at Lucy with a sleepy expression. "No, no... I don't want to burden you..." She mumbled as she stood up, only to fall and be caught by Lucy.

"Please, you're dead on your feet and it's the least we can do to repay you. At this moment in time, I think a bear could ride a horse better than you." The blonde said with a slight chuckle, scoping the bluenette up and carrying her to the adjacent bedroom, which just so happened to be Lucy's, and dropping her in the bed, pulling the sheets over her.

Wendy smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you.." She mumbled as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Lucy smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and returning to the spare room, dropping into the chair next to the bed.

"Virgo, I'll take care of him tonight. You should get some sleep."

The pink-haired woman looked up and smiled gratefully at the blonde. "Thank you Hime." She said as she exited the room.

Lucy smiled and turned back to the man, dabbing his face with the cloth. She sat there for a few more hours before her eyelids started to droop. The blonde looked at the man and noticed that there was enough room on the other side of the bed for another person.

The blonde shrugged and stepped onto the bed, stepping over the man and laying down on the other side. "A little sleep couldn't hurt..." She mumbled as she positioned her head on the small amount of free space on the pillow, closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep.

When Lucy woke up, she yawned and rolled over to look at the man. Once she finished rolling, she looked at his face only to be met with beautiful crimson eyes.

"Hello." He stated in a deep monotonous voice.

* * *

**Well, here's the first chapter to my new story. If anyone is reading The Short Sword Sisters, don't worry, I'm not replacing it with this, I will post a new chapter of it tomorrow. Don't forget to R&amp;R!**

**Autumn-chan out!**


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